Ribon

Ribon (りぼん, lit. "Ribbon") is a monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha on the third of each month. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are Nakayoshi and Ciao. It is one of the best-selling shōjo manga magazines, having sold over 590 million copies since 1978. Its circulation was in the millions between 1987 and 2001, peaking at 2.3 million in 1994. In 2009, the magazine's circulation was 274,167. In 2010, the circulation dropped to 243,334.

The magazine's pages are printed on multicolored newsprint. Often exceeding 400 pages, the issues are distributed with a sackful of goodies (furoku) ranging from small toys to colorful note pads themed around manga serialized in the magazine. In some issues, readers can send in stamps for mail order gifts (zen-in). The manga series from the magazine are later compiled and published in book form (tankōbon) under the Ribon Mascot Comics (RMC) imprint. Ribon has also inspired multiple spin-off magazines, including Bessatsu Ribon (1966–1968); Ribon Comics, renamed Junior Comics (1967–1968); Ribon Comic (1968–1971); Ribon Deluxe (1975–1978); and Ribon Original (1981–2006).